Who know their plants?

[Slofe]

As i'm totally fed up of trying to keep my ficus healthy (keeps dropping leaves, almost bare now) I'm looking to get another plant, one that isn't so picky. Pothos is great, it seams to live through anything, I have a rather okish look camellia but the ficus is doing my head in. I can't seem to find an umbrella tree anywhere near where I live (I don't drive) nor can I seam to find a decent supplier online.

So can anyone let me know a shrub type plant that's non toxic? I've looked at lists but they're just that, lists, they don't say what type of plants they are. I haven't really got time to look up each individual plant to see if it's a shrub or not so can anyone help? Thanks.

 

[jampen]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_Plant

Corn plant. Super hardy. You can't hardly kill them.

 

[Miss Lily]

Do you have a B&Q near you? They sell Schefflera (Umbrella plants) in a few different sizes. Also I think Netto had some cheap plants in earlier this week (so I was told by another cham owner, but I don't have Netto on the Isle of Wight!) and I know that Lidl quite often have scheflera and Ficus on offer too. Hibiscus are a popular and edible plant, but I think they have just gone out of season now. I got one at my local Thompson's Garden Centre a few weeks ago for £4.99 reduced from £7.99 as they are end of season.

 

[warpdrive]

hi Slofe,

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to plants...

I too feel the same about ficus trees.
I personaly can't kill any plant, but they just don't like me much.
the leaves drop like flys after a bug bomb goes off, and I'm left with what looks more like a tree and less like a plant with plenty of leaves.

I'll bet it has to do with low humidity and poor light.
I'm thinking of getting a plant grow light (6500k) and adding it to my cages.
it's that or I'm going to have to buy new ficus trees every 4 months or so and replace them in my cages.

the sad part is they make great plants for our tall cages, so regardless of what you do use mostly, they should be added as well.

Harry

 

[HairyScaryMark]

As i'm totally fed up of trying to keep my ficus healthy (keeps dropping leaves, almost bare now) I'm looking to get another plant, one that isn't so picky. Pothos is great, it seams to live through anything, I have a rather okish look camellia but the ficus is doing my head in. I can't seem to find an umbrella tree anywhere near where I live (I don't drive) nor can I seam to find a decent supplier online.

So can anyone let me know a shrub type plant that's non toxic? I've looked at lists but they're just that, lists, they don't say what type of plants they are. I haven't really got time to look up each individual plant to see if it's a shrub or not so can anyone help? Thanks.

I have 3 ficus trees of different varieties (Ficus Benjamin, Ficus 'Exotica', Ficus Gingseng bonsai) in my chameleon cage. With a Repti-glo 5.0 UV linear + heat lamps and misting + dripping a few times a day all 3 of these plants are doing well, unlike my hibiscus plants which have leaves fall off and go a crisp yellow.

Maybe there is something you can improve in your setup which will keep your plants healthy. Have you tried repotting in differnet soil and larger pots? You can even add earth worms to the soil also. Some people also have additional 'plant lights' which haver a certain quality of light suited for plants.